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"I can'tbelieve she let her boyfriend film her."

"I thought she was weird before. I guess I was right."

"I can't believe she had the balls to show her face today."

"She knows everyone saw it, right?"

"What if she's the one that sent it out?"

Each one cuts into me like a knife. I wish it was an actual knife instead. I just have to make it through my classes, and I can go back to my apartment to find some relief. During class, there shouldn’t be anything I have to overhear. The breaks between them are going to be the biggest issue.

I make it through the first break fairly easily, but the break between my second and third class is much longer. I have to go to the other side of campus, and typically, I stop at the dining hall to grab lunch beforehand. My stomach growls at the thought of food. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday.

I take a deep breath and will my body toward the dining hall.I'll just keep my eyes down and ignore the comments. It'll be fine.Except it's not fine. As soon as I walk in, I make the mistake of glancing around the room, and everyone goes quiet. Everyone is staring at me as I step in front of the cooler full of ready-made sandwiches. I grab a random cold cut, eager to get out of here as fast as possible.

When I turn to walk toward the check-out, a woman steps in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest. I’ve seen her around campus before. We don’t share any classes, but she always hangs around the football team. She’s got perfect long blonde hair and always has her makeup firmly in place. She’sthe exact type of person you would look at and just know she’s a mean girl.

"You know, we always wondered why Carson would date someone like you, but it all makes perfect sense now. You're the only slut willing to fulfill his sexual fantasies. I bet you liked it when you found out he was recording you, didn't you?"

I try to step to the side to walk around her, but she steps in front of me again. I don't see how shaming me makes her feel better. I get increasingly annoyed at her continued presence.

"I bet you'd let one of his friends fuck you at the same time and film that too. You would probably let the entire football team run a train on your used-up pussy."

"Get the fuck out of my way," I grit out, making her laugh in my face.

"You're a pathetic excuse of nothing, a waste of space, Lena. Nobody wants anything to do with you now that we've all seen what you're good for. Nothing but a slut who's willing to do anything for someone to fuck her. Carson isn't just fucking you, though. Maybe you should ask him about me."

She laughs again and finally steps to the side, leaving me to stare at her as she walks away. Was she the one who leaked the video? Or is she another woman Carson could be cheating on me with?

My head spins as I approach the cash register to ring myself out. I grab the sandwich I no longer desire to eat and go straight to my car. After the run-in with that cunt in the dining hall,I'm skipping my last class for the day. My professor will just have to get over it. The blades in my car are calling out to me again.

Chapter 4

Kellan

She walks through the crowd, her head bowed as they all comment about her under their breath, things nobody should ever have to endure hearing. It wasn't her fault, yet they make it seem like it is.

She doesn't want to draw any attention to herself, which is ironic considering who she chooses to spend her time with. She could have picked anyone, but she ended up with the quarterback of the football team. It was only a matter of time before he did something to bring this kind of negative attention to her. He can’t resist the urge to make everything about himself. His time is growing near. I can feel it.

A familiar but strange, angry feeling eats at me when I think of what he did to her. He is trying to pull her back to the darkest pits of her mind. I have to find a way to make sure she doesn't go there. I'm not ready for our time together to be cut short. He should just let her go. It would all be so much easier if he would spare her the humiliation.

I watch her in my human-like form, disguising myself in the crowd as if I were another one of them. Nobody here will see the true me, not any time soon. I'm not allowed to intentionally show humans my true shadow selfunless I am there to transport their soul. It's a stupid rule.

I've never had a desire to linger amongst them for as long as I have been lately. I've found myself spending more and more time in my human form to be near her. She has been slowly shifting something inside me from the moment I first laid eyes on her.

After the video exposed her to the majority of Thorn Grove, I feel more protective of her. It's another feeling I've never previously felt with this fiery level of intensity. It's a problem. I'm not unfamiliar with emotions. I've just never had the need for them until my broken beauty crossed my path. Anything I've felt before her was nothing more than a fleeting moment through time.

She gets through the first part of her day without any major issues. They make comments under their breath, but she avoids gazing at them. She keeps to herself, walking with her eyes glued to the ground.

Just as she gets ready to get her lunch, at the same time she normally does, I feel myself being called away. I pause momentarily before giving her one last glance and shrinking into the shadows to disappear. Stupid work.

I'm away for a good portion of the day, leaving her to fend for herself. If I could shield her from their torment without risking the very purpose of her being, I would. I'm starting to realize I would do just about anything for her, and I haven't even been granted the satisfaction of a simple conversation. Sheknows nothing about me, but I know as much as I can about her.

By the time I'm able to get near her again, my pet is asleep in her bed. I had to see her, so I let myself into her apartment and I’m currently watching from the shadows. There was a mass casualty event today that took up more of my time than expected. Every time I finished leading one soul, another was calling out for me. On days like today, I consider how helpful it would be to have a partner to assist with the job. My eyes roam back to Lena. What if she could be by my side to help me? I shake the thought from my mind. It's not possible. It would never be allowed. Death doesn't get a partner. Death is meant to be alone, final.

She twitches in her sleep. Maybe she can sense me in her unconscious state.You're not as alone as you think you are, pet.Her loser boyfriend is out partying, surely finding another way to cause her pain. I wish I could intervene, but I'm left in the shadows to observe as the only person I've ever developed feelings for feels nothing but pure anguish.

Feelings. They have been slowly growing stronger since the moment I first saw her. I'm not supposed to let things get out of hand like this because it complicates things—like right now. She twitches again, almost as though she is having a bad dream, and all I want to do is pull her into my grasp to coax her into a restful sleep.

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